WBI Studies Repository (WellBeing International)
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From animal to plant sentience: Is there credible evidence?
Get PDFSegundo-Ortin & Calvo argue that plants have a surprisingly varied and complex behavioral repertoire. Which of these behavioral capacities are credible indicators of sentience? If we use the standards of evidence common in discussions of animal sentience, the behavioral capacities reviewed are insufficient evidence of sentience. Even if some putative indicators of animal sentience are present in plants, it is not clear whether what we should conclude is that plants are sentient or that those indicators are inadequate
For People With HIV, Pets Can Be a Barrier to Healthcare
Get PDFSome studies have found pets improve the psychological well-being of people with HIV. However, new research finds pet ownership among HIV-positive individuals can create barriers to the owner\u27s healthcare. These findings may apply to people suffering from other chronic disorders
The Asian Elephant and its Interaction with People and the Environment
No full textIs the Asian Elephant an example of a self-domesticated species, and if so, how should the species be managed
How Can Meat Consumption Be Both Increasing and Decreasing?
Get PDFThe percentage of Americans who do not eat meat has doubled in the past two decades. Per capita meat consumption in the U.S., though, has not changed in decades and remains among the highest in the world. The moralization-polarization effect explains this paradox. Cognitive dissonance may induce some people to eat less meat but others to eat more
Managing the Real Rat Race
Get PDFRats have lived alongside humans for centuries despite energetic efforts to eliminate them from homes and offices
Greyfriars Bobby
No full textBobby, a small terrier in Edinburgh, is another example of canine post mortem devotion to a human companion
Comparing U.S. Groups’ Openness to Pro-Animal Actions
Get PDFAs animal advocates know, an outreach tactic that is successful with one person will not necessarily be successful with all people. Advocates rarely launch campaigns with no idea of who will be seeing their ‘asks’ (i.e., requests for pro-animal actions). Even in the case of passive tactics such as billboards, advocates may know who frequents that part of the city. For example, they may be near a university, meaning their audience will include a high proportion of students. The United States public is diverse and groups of people can differ greatly in their opinions. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, advocates could be more effective in their outreach by taking the preferences of their audience into consideration.
Much of the research that has been done on the U.S. public’s openness to various pro-animal actions has focused on one or two actions at a time, such as adopting a vegan diet or voting for cage-free ballot initiatives. Many studies have also only been able to consider a small number of participant characteristics, such as age, race/ethnicity, and gender. As a result, the amount of data comparing asks and characteristics has been limited.
Through a survey of thousands of U.S. residents, we add much-needed data on the various segments of the U.S. population to animal advocates’ tool belts. Our results show how likely different segments of the U.S. public would be to take 18 different pro-animal actions. These results also allow advocates to compare subgroup differences across approximately 20 different characteristics. Advocates working with a particular group can compare which asks are most likely to appeal to them: for example, people with children in the home, people in rural areas, or people who are concerned about climate change. Alternatively, advocates working on particular asks can see which segments of the population may be the most likely to support their campaigns: for example, adopting a vegan diet, not buying animal-based materials like leather, or writing a member of Congress about farmed animal welfare
Plant sentience and the case for ethical veganism
Get PDFDoes the possibility of plant sentience pose a problem for ethical veganism? It has not yet been demonstrated that plants are sentient (i.e., that they can feel). Moreover, even if it were demonstrated that plants could feel, it would also have to be demonstrated that they can feel the affectively “valenced” feelings that are ethically significant, such as pain and fear, rather than just neutral sensations such as darker/lighter, or wetter/drier. Finally, if plants could feel valenced feelings, veganism would likely still be the ethical option, on the principle of causing the least harm
Plant sentience: The burden of proof
Get PDFSegundo-Ortin & Calvo’s (2023) target article takes a less speculative and more evidence-based approach to plant sentience than did previous works promoting that idea. However, it retains many of the idea’s longstanding difficulties such as starting from a false dichotomy (plants must be either hardwired or sentient), not accepting the full burden of proof for an extraordinary claim, confusingly redefining accepted cognitive terms, implying cell consciousness, not adopting the most parsimonious explanations for plant behaviors, and downplaying all the counterevidence. We advise rectifying these problems before plant sentience can become a full-fledged scientific domain
Sensing is a far cry from sentience
Get PDFThe hypothesis that plants might be sentient confuses the notion of sentience (or consciousness) with that of sensing. Sentience/consciousness implies feeling, experience, and subjectivity. Sensing does not. Plants can sense/detect and even respond appropriately in the absence of any sentience/consciousness